Austin Rivers urges Trae Young to leave consistently underwhelming Hawks: "Nobody gives a f**k"

While Trae Young continues to be one of the top guards in the NBA, the Atlanta Hawks remain a middle-of-the-pack team at best. As he enters his prime years in the league, one former player wants him to get a change of scenery.

Earlier this week, Austin Rivers put out a new episode of his Off Guard podcast. Among the things he brought up was Young's situation in Atlanta. With the Hawks not being close to contention, he wants to see them move from their All-Star point guard.

“I haven't seen Trae Young play a meaningful game since God knows when," Rivers said. "Every time I turn on the Hawks, it's a game that nobody gives a f*** about who wins. You're not going anywhere. Get out of there, get out.”

Young, 26, is arguably one of the top offensive talents in the NBA today. Not only is he averaging just shy of 22 points a game, but he's leading the league in assists 12.5 a night. Despite this level of production, the Hawks find themselves three games under .500 at 8-11.

Trading Young would be no small feat, as he is in the middle of a five-year, $215 million contract. With an annual salary of nearly $45 million, it would take a lot to work out a deal from the financial standpoint alone.

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Trae Young accomplishes rare feat in Atlanta Hawks win over Cleveland Cavaliers

While the Hawks currently find themselves under .500, they did manage to pick up a win over one of the league's top teams this week. A large reason why Atlanta was able to hand the Cleveland Cavaliers their second loss was the play of Trae Young.

In the Hawks' 135-124 win over the Cavs, Young did something he's only ever done once before in his NBA career. That being a 20-20 game. In 36 minutes of action, he recorded a stat line of 20 points, four rebounds and 22 assists.

Thanks to Trae Young's playmaking, the Hawks ended the night with seven players in double figures. De'Andre Hunter had a team-high 26 points off the bench, with Jalen Johnson (22 points) and Zaccharie Risacher (17 points) also putting together strong outings.

Despite being one of the NBA's best facilitators, Young has only eclipsed 20 assists once before his performance against Cleveland. That came during the 2023 season when he had a 27-point, 20-assist performance against the Philadelphia 76ers.

Performances like this are a testament to why people such as Austin Rivers want to see Young moved. He has the star power to elevate any team and could propel the right group into being a contender.